Thousands have taken a defiant stance against “vicious” experiments at a Potters Bar monkey testing facility.

More than 3,000 people have signed a petition urging the Government to cut funding to the National Institute for Biological Standards, in Blanche Lane.

Launched by animal rights group the Anti-Vivisection Coalition, members believe there are other alternatives to using the animals.

Head of the UK branch, Luke Steele, said: “The monkeys are suffering. The experiments are cruel and vicious, they restrain them for hours at a time and inject them with poison.

“I’d like to see the funding revoked and for the monkeys to be replaced. The public have all been on our side with this, everyone’s been shocked and they’ve all wished us well.

“It’s simply an appalling situation.”

Last month, more than 50 people from the AVC gathered outside the NIBSC in protest against the experiments.

They argued the laboratory is not producing new life-saving drugs but is in fact still testing old drugs on animals, while more advanced methods are available.

Protestors are also keen to see the monkey’s returned to sanctuaries.

But the NIBSC say it has done more than any other laboratory in the world to reduce its dependance on animals for medicines testing.

In a statement, it said the animals are kept in “excellent” conditions and are extremely well looked after by staff.

It added: “Our animal work is a crucial part of the work we do to protect public health, for example to help us carry out independent safety testing of vaccines that all our children receive or in the fight to eliminate HIV.

“All of our research is regulated by the Home Office and research is only permitted when there is no alternative research technique and the expected benefits outweigh any possible adverse effects.”

Comments (2)

' Home Office regulations' are not worth the paper they are written on . . . a rubber stamp by one of the 'old guard', probably with financial interests in pharmaceuticals guarantees nothing for these animals - except that they will be used and abused and disposed of. "The Diaries of Despair" brought Home Office ineptitudes/lassitud
es to light some years ago - and the bottom line is, we, as sentient beings, do not want suffering and cruelty to any other sentient beings? If you were regularly restrained, had your mouth forced open by restraints, force fed poisons, had blood taken from you . . over and over again . and then you were returned to your house until it was time for such atrocities to be repeated? Where would you feel that your welfare was being considered. The research industry chooses only to show the public the sterile labs and glossy advertisements - go take a look at the NIBSC, down the quiet leafy lane. . . .you won't get in there, the walls are high, and the fencing is unwelcoming, and it chills the soul . . . . .when you know what goes on behind the bricks and glass. .

' Home Office regulations' are not worth the paper they are written on . . . a rubber stamp by one of the 'old guard', probably with financial interests in pharmaceuticals guarantees nothing for these animals - except that they will be used and abused and disposed of. "The Diaries of Despair" brought Home Office ineptitudes/lassitud
es to light some years ago - and the bottom line is, we, as sentient beings, do not want suffering and cruelty to any other sentient beings? If you were regularly restrained, had your mouth forced open by restraints, force fed poisons, had blood taken from you . . over and over again . and then you were returned to your house until it was time for such atrocities to be repeated? Where would you feel that your welfare was being considered. The research industry chooses only to show the public the sterile labs and glossy advertisements - go take a look at the NIBSC, down the quiet leafy lane. . . .you won't get in there, the walls are high, and the fencing is unwelcoming, and it chills the soul . . . . .when you know what goes on behind the bricks and glass. .For The Voiceless

It's even more of a problem why we have to do petitions and write FOI requests just to talk with scientists who do these experiments with those scientists who have the evidence that this is scientifically invalid, why are the animal experimenters ignoring all forms of debate. This is not only cruel but is doing nothing for finding vaccines or safety testing, if it is, then why are all forms of communications between scientists blocked by those that are doing the experiments/research
?

It's even more of a problem why we have to do petitions and write FOI requests just to talk with scientists who do these experiments with those scientists who have the evidence that this is scientifically invalid, why are the animal experimenters ignoring all forms of debate. This is not only cruel but is doing nothing for finding vaccines or safety testing, if it is, then why are all forms of communications between scientists blocked by those that are doing the experiments/research
?Dr Cheale